Fasano's House District 36 seat became vacant when he resigned two weeks ago to become Pasco's tax collector.

The governor set a special primary election — open to registered Democrats and Republicans — for Sept. 17.

The general election, set for Oct. 15, is open to all voters living in House District 36. The district encompasses parts of New Port Richey, Port Richey and Hudson and generally runs west of Little Road from the southern county line to the northern line.

For voters who plan to mail their registration applications, the applications must be postmarked no later than Aug. 19 and mailed to the Supervisor of Election's Dade City office — P.O. Box 300, Dade City, FL 33526.

The district leans Democrat and twice supported Barack Obama for president. It consists of about 95,000 voters, including 34,904 Democrats and 32,533 Republicans.

Two Republicans have filed to run in the primary: Bill Gunter, a Presbyterian minister, and attorney Jim Mathieu, chair of Pasco's Republican party.

As of Friday afternoon, no Democrat had filed to run. Party leader Lynn Lindeman has said, however, that a candidate will step forward soon, possibly this week.

Early voting is set to run from Sept. 7 to Sept. 14 for the primary and from Oct. 5 to Oct. 12 for the general election. Early voters must cast their ballots at the supervisor's office at 8731 Citizens Drive, New Port Richey.

The office will mail out absentee ballots upon request.

Voters can go to www.pascovotes.com for more information or to check their registration status.